Fiscal Response Ability
By the time you read this, the 1983 Summer Consumer Electronics Show will be history. After years of tantalizing us with mock ups and one-off prototypes of assorted digital hardware, the audio industry will finally and officially enter the era of digital sound, and the 1983 Show will be remembered for that. There will be production models of compact digital audio disc players from virtually all of the major Japanese and European audio manufacturers. There will also be other digital audio equipment, such as digital processors and recorders, which could have a very profound effect on a large segment of the present audio market.
As you may know, members of the audio press attend manufacturers' press conferences several months before the Shows, where we are given previews of the new audio equipment that will be exhibited. This year, Technics held a preview conference, devoted entirely to digital audio, which I found of particular interest. I will detail most of this new equipment in my SCES product roundup. However, there is one fascinating new Technics product that I want to bring to your attention early, the SV-110 digital audio processor.
Using standard EIAJ PCM 14-bit linear quantization and decoding, with a 44.056k sampling rate, the SV-110 is designed to be used in conjunction with a videocassette deck to record PCM data.
A slim-line unit, the SV-110 measures approximately 17 in. W x 2 1/2 in. H x 13 1/2 in. D and weighs in at 13.7 pounds. Its frequency response is rated at 2 Hz to 20 kHz, ±0.5 dB, THD as less than 0.01%, and dynamic range as more than 86 dB. Record level indication is via a two-color fluorescent meter with a peak-hold capability. An unusual and useful feature is that the meter can be switched to indicate the highest peak level attained during the entire recording. The meter shows signal levels from-25 to +6 dB. The provision of the +6 dB indicator is a bit surprising, since PCM recording signals over the 0 dB point usually cause hard clipping and audibly nasty sound.
Another helpful feature in setting re cording level is that two separate level controls are provided along with a large, single master recording level potentiometer. A record mute switch is included, as is a playback mute cancel switch which permits cue and review monitoring with whatever VCR is being used. The SV-110 also has playback, record, copy and dubbing direction indicators. The input signals to the SV 110 can be monitored via a stereo headphone jack with separate level control.
Naturally, Technics favors the use of VHS decks with the SV-110, but Beta format decks can be used as well. Two VCRs can be connected to the SV-110 at the same time, permitting direct digital dubbing. The really unusual feature of the SV-110 is that it is capable of recording and retrieving PCM data in the SLP (super long play) mode of a VHS deck, thus affording up to six hours of digital recording on a T-120 videocassette! The implications of this six-hour re cording capability can be quite startling. Consider that (in the New York City area) a typical high grade T-120 videocassette can be purchased for a discounted price of a little more than $10. Consider also that you would need four C-90 audio cassettes to achieve six hours of recording, and they are currently available for a discounted price of around $3 or $4 each (assuming best quality cassettes, including metal particle). In other words, with the SV-110 it can actually be less expensive to digitally record equivalent amounts of music on videocassettes than on standard analog cassettes.
One must also consider the audio quality differential between the two re cording mediums. The digital recording will provide unmeasurable wow and flutter (a parameter an audio cassette recorder cannot match), extremely wide dynamic range, noiseless recording, vanishingly low levels of distortion, and almost ruler-flat frequency response with significantly extended bass. High-end audio cassette decks equipped with Dolby C or dbx noise reduction can provide remark ably high quality sound, but even the very best of them cannot match the quality of the digital recording.
The most astonishing thing about the SV-110 is its price. Only a few years ago the first consumer-type digital processor, the Sony PCM-1, sold for a rather breathtaking $4,400. The SV 110 has a retail list price of $800! Of course, to this price must be added the cost of a VHS or Beta VCR, but currently good quality VCRs with long play capability can be purchased for $600 to $700.
Assuming a combined cost of SV-110 processor and VCR at $1,500, this obviously places the system in direct competition with a number of high-end audio cassette decks. The question naturally arises, what about software for a digital processor? Here one must concede that prerecorded PCM video cassettes are very few in number and cost $45 to $50 each. Until high-speed digital duplication is developed, there will be very little change in this situation. Clearly, the thousands of prerecorded audio cassettes offered by the major record companies are a major plus for the cassette format. The SV 110 has no microphone inputs, but a small mixer plugged into the line inputs can remedy this. However, there is still that ever-present question, what does one record? A few go-rounds with the local high school band, the church choir, and Junior's birthday party just about covers this subject.
The obvious uses of the SV-110 parallel those of the compact cassette medium. A common practice of cassette owners is the preserving of sound quality by copying new (or slightly used) analog records onto tape. The SV-110 can be used for the same purpose, with the added advantage of longer continuity in music programming, such as full-length operas played back without interruption. For those addicted to background music, one could record six hours of favorite music on a T-120 videocassette. Imagine a party where the music greets the guests at 8 P.M. and ultimately speeds them on their departing ways at 2 A.M.
The mind boggles! Needless to say, if one has a digital Compact Disc player, these discs can be copied onto digital videocassette, although not on a digital-to-digital basis. There would be a D-to-A conversion out of the CD player, and a subsequent A-to-D conversion in the SV-110 processor. However, taping Compact Discs for preservation of sound quality would be an exercise in futility, since the tape would wear out while the la ser-scanned disc would remain sonically pristine forever! There would seem to be little doubt that inexpensive digital processors, such as the SV-110 with its long-play recording capabilities, could be highly competitive with high-end cassette decks. Perhaps the compact cassette forces can counter this with something like the Sharp CX-3 PCM digital cassette recorder I reported on in the April issue. We have noted previously that Sansui has their Tricode PCM digital processor which also affords six-hour recording capability, but at a much higher price.
Speaking of digital processors, the Sony PCM-F1 has become something of a cult item. The only consumer-type PCM processor with 16-bit resolution, it is a really extraordinary device. In the opinion of some highly respected professional recording engineers, its performance surpasses that of Sony's earlier pure professional digital recorder models. I concur, having made many superb recordings with the PCM-F1, and the Sony PCM-F1 has received high praise almost universally. The only drawback has been its inability to edit recordings. Oh, there was a very circuitous and laborious way it could be done, but most felt it wasn't worth the effort. Such was the situation until March of this year, when the RTW Company of Cologne, Germany, introduced their Studio-Processor Set at the 73rd AES Convention in Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
The Studio-Processor Set consists of the RTW A + D Interface plus modifications to the Sony PCM-F1. This Inter face unit, exactly the same size as the PCM-F1, essentially enables analog matching of the PCM-F1 processor in puts and outputs to balanced, floating, +6 dB lines. It also offers a digital interface for direct digital copying on the Sony 1610 professional processor system. There are error-correction and static displays, and a special head room switch provides for optimum pro gram-dependent utilization of dynamic range. Other switches are for 16/14 bit resolution, mute hold, copy prohibit, pre-emphasis (which can be defeated) and video copy.
With the RTW A + D Interface, digital recordings made with the PCM-F1 can be transferred to Sony U-Matic recorders and the professional Sony 1610 digital processor. Once in that format, the editing can proceed in the standard Sony electronic fashion with Sony's DAE 1100 editor. Obviously, since we are talking about more than $100,000 for the Sony 1610 and DAE 1100 editing system, most owners of the PCM-F1 will have their transfers and editing done by specialist companies who have this professional Sony equipment and usually charge $600 to $700 a day for their services.
The cost of the RTW A + D Interface is $2,000, which includes modifications to your own PCM-F1 processor. In this country, the RTW A + D Interface is handled by Auditronics of Memphis, Tennessee.
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(Adapted from: Audio magazine, Jul. 1983; Bert Whyte )
Also see:
Dr. Thomas Stockham on the Future of Digital Recording (Feb. 1980)
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